Longtime readers of SciFiHistory.Net should know by now that I’m no huge fan of silent movies.
Now – for the record – this isn’t to say that I don’t have a few I strongly support. Frankly, I haven’t seen all that many; and – to complicate matters – there really aren’t all that many genre-specific titles made in that era. While I understand that, culturally, silent flicks do have their time and place in the vast pantheon of cinema, I just haven’t invested as much time in their study and impact as others have, so I tend to ‘take a back seat’ to many of these releases unless I’ve either heard of them, have had them recommended to me, or I’ve done some reading prior to their appearance in the marketplace and am willing to give it a go. Again, I give the highest preference to genre releases – Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror – so I’ve come to accept that not many of those features hit the shelves as often as do Dramas and Comedies.
Still, I was excited when I was offered the chance to watch and review 1927’s The Cat And The Canary. For the uninformed, it’s a Horror/Comedy that has been regarded as one of the biggest and earliest examples of German Expressionism kinda/sorta melding with the aesthetics of what was being attempted here in the United States. I’d also read that such use of light, shadows, set construction, and exaggerated performances were a heavy, heavy influence on the more popular installments of the Universal Pictures Monsters Universe that wouldn’t see screens for a few years yet; and these facts strongly suggested that this would be time well spent for this genre critic.
Having just finished it and sat down to pen my thoughts, I can say that it’s a surprisingly light affair, more comedic in tone than I had perhaps expected. Definitely, it’s easy to see how its general look and pacing might have helped paved the way for what was to come (especially at Universal Pictures); and still I could make the argument that – at 108 minutes – it could use a trim here and there without losing any impact of its overall tone and its performances. What works best in all of it is the chosen locale – a big, dark, spooky castle-of-a-home with some heavily outfitted living spaces, ghostly features, and secret passages that escape detection until they’re needed most.
What works least?
Well, that would be its notable bit of camp …
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“Relatives of an eccentric millionaire gather in his spooky mansion on the 20th anniversary of his death for the reading of his will.”
Now – for the record – this isn’t to say that I don’t have a few I strongly support. Frankly, I haven’t seen all that many; and – to complicate matters – there really aren’t all that many genre-specific titles made in that era. While I understand that, culturally, silent flicks do have their time and place in the vast pantheon of cinema, I just haven’t invested as much time in their study and impact as others have, so I tend to ‘take a back seat’ to many of these releases unless I’ve either heard of them, have had them recommended to me, or I’ve done some reading prior to their appearance in the marketplace and am willing to give it a go. Again, I give the highest preference to genre releases – Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror – so I’ve come to accept that not many of those features hit the shelves as often as do Dramas and Comedies.
Still, I was excited when I was offered the chance to watch and review 1927’s The Cat And The Canary. For the uninformed, it’s a Horror/Comedy that has been regarded as one of the biggest and earliest examples of German Expressionism kinda/sorta melding with the aesthetics of what was being attempted here in the United States. I’d also read that such use of light, shadows, set construction, and exaggerated performances were a heavy, heavy influence on the more popular installments of the Universal Pictures Monsters Universe that wouldn’t see screens for a few years yet; and these facts strongly suggested that this would be time well spent for this genre critic.
Having just finished it and sat down to pen my thoughts, I can say that it’s a surprisingly light affair, more comedic in tone than I had perhaps expected. Definitely, it’s easy to see how its general look and pacing might have helped paved the way for what was to come (especially at Universal Pictures); and still I could make the argument that – at 108 minutes – it could use a trim here and there without losing any impact of its overall tone and its performances. What works best in all of it is the chosen locale – a big, dark, spooky castle-of-a-home with some heavily outfitted living spaces, ghostly features, and secret passages that escape detection until they’re needed most.
What works least?
Well, that would be its notable bit of camp …
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“Relatives of an eccentric millionaire gather in his spooky mansion on the 20th anniversary of his death for the reading of his will.”
Where I tend to disagree most with those who do what I do – i.e. watch and review productions – usually involves comedy.
The shortest, simplest explanation I can offer is that what each of us finds truly funny differs so widely that I tend to get lost in the shuffle to find something worth laughing about. Those comedies that I embrace tend to lie more in farce and/or parody, though I have been known to ‘bust a gut’ in theaters if there’s some smart, unexpected bit so well written or well-conceived that I didn’t see it coming. Having seen so many, many, many films, I usually do see jokes coming – it’ll always be my Achilles’ Heel as a critic – and, as a consequence, the effect is mildly lost on me.
And – as long as I’m confessing here – I’ve never (ever) been a fan of the obvious camp sensibilities that drove so much of the humor of the Silent Era of filmmaking. Goofy grimaces and over-emphasized pratfalls just never tickled my funny bone – no, not even as a little guy – and I find myself rolling my eyes more often than anything else when such merriment gets underway. Thankfully, comedy evolved from that – such schtick does rear its head from time-to-time even today – and I’m not forced to undergo much of it at this stage of my life.
The Cat And The Canary does have soft touches of such foolishness here and there, and this is mostly owed to the fact that its men and women find themselves spending the night in what appears to be a traditional haunted house setting: after twenty long years, the surviving relations of deceased millionaire Cyrus West are finally being made privy to the contents of his will. (Yes, twenty years is a long wait, but because they’d hung on him like a cat stalking a canary for so much of his last days he demanded in writing that they’d have to wait equally as long as he endured their torture.) As Fate would have it, rumors now persist that it’s the late West himself haunting these halls, only for them to learn that matters have been made worse with an escaped mental patient loose in the area also privately stalking the grounds on this dark night.
So, yes, there’s a big of obvious overacting – so very common to the era – when the men and women believe they’re being spooked about; but director Paul Leni keeps a great deal of it under control. What matters most in this tale of jilted relations is the atmosphere of the expansive estate, its dark corners, and its secret passageways. The plot – an adaptation of a popular stage play – moves along fairly well; when Annabelle West (played by Laura La Plante) inherits her late uncle’s fortune and has to be found ‘fully sane’ by a medical professional before she can assume the riches, it’s only natural that these hanging-on uncles, aunts, cousins, etc. will stay the night in hopes that they might be named as the secret successor should Annabelle fail to meet the required standards.
With this being released in 1927 – possibly shot late the previous year or early that one – it’s patently obvious to see the influence such production detail likely had on Horror movies in their evolution within the United States. The West mansion has its share of twists and turns, all with some high ceilings and a general baroque feel about the furnishings here and there. Because the home houses the level of secrets it does, Leni put his crew through their marks; and – as a result – this one manages to both look and sound as though it could be in that same universe which Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolf Man would set up shot in the near future. Some of its scares – and shenanigans – do stretch on a bit longer than necessary; and it’s easy to play the Monday morning quarterback a century later and suggest you keep your hand on the FF button for posterity’s sake.
Also, it’s surprisingly trim on dialogue placards, and that’s something I hadn’t expected. A great deal of lesser information gets conveyed with just a look or a visual suggestion here and there, so much so that (again) I’m inclined to wonder why Leni or the postproduction specialists didn’t excise some unnecessary footage here and there. At just under two hours, it’s one of the longer silent pictures that I’ve seen, and it just didn’t need to be.
The shortest, simplest explanation I can offer is that what each of us finds truly funny differs so widely that I tend to get lost in the shuffle to find something worth laughing about. Those comedies that I embrace tend to lie more in farce and/or parody, though I have been known to ‘bust a gut’ in theaters if there’s some smart, unexpected bit so well written or well-conceived that I didn’t see it coming. Having seen so many, many, many films, I usually do see jokes coming – it’ll always be my Achilles’ Heel as a critic – and, as a consequence, the effect is mildly lost on me.
And – as long as I’m confessing here – I’ve never (ever) been a fan of the obvious camp sensibilities that drove so much of the humor of the Silent Era of filmmaking. Goofy grimaces and over-emphasized pratfalls just never tickled my funny bone – no, not even as a little guy – and I find myself rolling my eyes more often than anything else when such merriment gets underway. Thankfully, comedy evolved from that – such schtick does rear its head from time-to-time even today – and I’m not forced to undergo much of it at this stage of my life.
The Cat And The Canary does have soft touches of such foolishness here and there, and this is mostly owed to the fact that its men and women find themselves spending the night in what appears to be a traditional haunted house setting: after twenty long years, the surviving relations of deceased millionaire Cyrus West are finally being made privy to the contents of his will. (Yes, twenty years is a long wait, but because they’d hung on him like a cat stalking a canary for so much of his last days he demanded in writing that they’d have to wait equally as long as he endured their torture.) As Fate would have it, rumors now persist that it’s the late West himself haunting these halls, only for them to learn that matters have been made worse with an escaped mental patient loose in the area also privately stalking the grounds on this dark night.
So, yes, there’s a big of obvious overacting – so very common to the era – when the men and women believe they’re being spooked about; but director Paul Leni keeps a great deal of it under control. What matters most in this tale of jilted relations is the atmosphere of the expansive estate, its dark corners, and its secret passageways. The plot – an adaptation of a popular stage play – moves along fairly well; when Annabelle West (played by Laura La Plante) inherits her late uncle’s fortune and has to be found ‘fully sane’ by a medical professional before she can assume the riches, it’s only natural that these hanging-on uncles, aunts, cousins, etc. will stay the night in hopes that they might be named as the secret successor should Annabelle fail to meet the required standards.
With this being released in 1927 – possibly shot late the previous year or early that one – it’s patently obvious to see the influence such production detail likely had on Horror movies in their evolution within the United States. The West mansion has its share of twists and turns, all with some high ceilings and a general baroque feel about the furnishings here and there. Because the home houses the level of secrets it does, Leni put his crew through their marks; and – as a result – this one manages to both look and sound as though it could be in that same universe which Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolf Man would set up shot in the near future. Some of its scares – and shenanigans – do stretch on a bit longer than necessary; and it’s easy to play the Monday morning quarterback a century later and suggest you keep your hand on the FF button for posterity’s sake.
Also, it’s surprisingly trim on dialogue placards, and that’s something I hadn’t expected. A great deal of lesser information gets conveyed with just a look or a visual suggestion here and there, so much so that (again) I’m inclined to wonder why Leni or the postproduction specialists didn’t excise some unnecessary footage here and there. At just under two hours, it’s one of the longer silent pictures that I’ve seen, and it just didn’t need to be.
The Cat And The Canary (1927) was produced by Universal Pictures. DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at Eureka Entertainment. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I found the sights-and-sounds to what’s been reported as an all-new 4K restoration to be quite good from start-to-finish: yes, it’s clearly taken from some extremely old material, but the restoration looks exceptional, though I’m not a fan of the color-coded sections of the print. (You’ll understand when you watch it.) Lastly, if you’re looking for special features? Well, it’s a solid assortment; and – in order to do it justice – I’m doing the copy-and-paste from the studio’s original press materials published over at Blu-ray.com below:
Again, I’ll remind readers that as I’m only provided a working Blu-ray copy of the film itself, I can’t speak to the efficacy of additional materials, such as booklets, artwork, slipcases, etc. Those things aren’t always shared with online reviewers, so those items are considered ‘buyer beware.’ (I will say I gave both new commentaries about 30 minutes each; and – gasp! – they were both a bit dry for my tastes.)
Recommended.
Realizing that a very old Silent Era Horror/Classic is likely not going to be on everyone’s Bucket List, my task here becomes highlighting why this one is worth your time. If you’re a fan of the Universal Pictures Monster Universe, then The Cat And The Canary might just be for you as it has long been recognized as being one of that studio’s grounding influences for that age. Watching it, I found it very easy to recognize the linkage between it and those. While, true, it might be a tad overlong and a bit light on actual written dialogue, it remains an interesting predecessor for where American cinema was heading in the lead-up to the 1930’s.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Eureka Entertainment and Masters Of Cinema provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray copy of The Cat And The Canary (1927) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
- NEW4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM BY MOMA
- DTS-HD MA 5.1 score by Robert Israel; compiled, synchronised and edited by Gillian B. Anderson, based on music cue sheets compiled and issued for the original 1927 release
- NEW audio commentary by author Stephen Jones and author / critic Kim Newman
- NEW audio commentary by Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby
- Mysteries Mean Dark Corners – brand new video essay by David Cairns & Fiona Watson
- Pamela Hutchinson on The Cat and the Canary – brand new interview with writer and film critic Pamela Hutchinson
- Phuong Le on The Cat and the Canary – brand new interview with film critic Phuong Le
- A Very Eccentric Man & Yeah, a Cat! – extracts from John Willard's original play
- Lucky Strike – Paul Leni gives a full-throated endorsement to the product that got him through filming The Cat and the Canary
- A collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Richard Combs, Craig Ian Mann, and Imogen Sara Smith
- Limited edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Graham Humphreys [2000 copies]
Again, I’ll remind readers that as I’m only provided a working Blu-ray copy of the film itself, I can’t speak to the efficacy of additional materials, such as booklets, artwork, slipcases, etc. Those things aren’t always shared with online reviewers, so those items are considered ‘buyer beware.’ (I will say I gave both new commentaries about 30 minutes each; and – gasp! – they were both a bit dry for my tastes.)
Recommended.
Realizing that a very old Silent Era Horror/Classic is likely not going to be on everyone’s Bucket List, my task here becomes highlighting why this one is worth your time. If you’re a fan of the Universal Pictures Monster Universe, then The Cat And The Canary might just be for you as it has long been recognized as being one of that studio’s grounding influences for that age. Watching it, I found it very easy to recognize the linkage between it and those. While, true, it might be a tad overlong and a bit light on actual written dialogue, it remains an interesting predecessor for where American cinema was heading in the lead-up to the 1930’s.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Eureka Entertainment and Masters Of Cinema provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray copy of The Cat And The Canary (1927) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
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